Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

LIHEAP is a federally funded block grant administered by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Community Services (OCS). The program’s intent is to assist low income households in meeting their immediate home energy needs.

In Washington State, LIHEAP assists households whose incomes are at or below 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL). These households pay a much higher proportion of their income for their home heating needs. As a result, they are the most at risk of losing access to heat during the cold winter months. The program is designed to help these families keep their heat on, especially those households that are most vulnerable, such as the elderly, the disabled, and households with young children.

LIHEAP primarily assists households by applying an energy assistance grant directly to the energy provider on behalf of the eligible household.   LIHEAP may also be able to help repair or replace an unsafe, dysfunctional, and/or inoperative heating system. Households who are eligible for LIHEAP may also qualify to have their homes made more energy efficient through the Weatherization Program.

Assistance amounts are determined by household size, income, heat source and previous years energy usage and are based on availability of funds.  We will ask pre-qualifying questions to determine if you appear eligible. You will be asked to provide required documentation to establish eligibility at the time of your appointment.

What do I need to bring to my Energy Assistance appointment?

• Picture ID for the primary applicant.
• Social security cards for ALL household members, including children.
• If you do not have a Social Security number: new policies dictate that if you are a non-citizen, you must bring Qualified Alien Documentation.
• Address verification.  (ex: utility bill, lease, ID, mail)
• Verification of all sources of income/monies received by every household member for the three previous months to the month of your appointment (for example: appointment date in July, please bring in April, May, June verification).
• A current heat bill or proof of your heat source.  (If your heat source is propane  /oil / pellets and you don’t have an account with anyone, you will need to bring receipts showing that you purchase these items to heat your home. If your heating source is wood, you will need to provide a statement from someone NOT LIVING IN the home stating they can verify that you use wood to heat your home).
• If your heat is included in the rent, you will need to bring in a copy of your lease stating that the heat is included.

Anyone with zero ‘0’ income and who is 18 or older is required to complete paperwork explaining how he/she paid for food, shelter and heat at the time of the appointment.

Please remember there is an extraordinarily large volume of people calling in during the scheduling days.  The phone lines are consistently in use during this process.  It is imperative that you be patient and persistent when calling in.  The calls are processed in the order they are received to the best of our systems capabilities.